Professional identity formation: Curriculum considerations for inducting undergraduate students into discursive communities

Learning and teaching in higher education is framed by curriculum models. Over the past decade constructive alignment (Biggs & Tang, 2009, 2011) has become widely accepted as the curriculum planning model for Australian higher education. Constructive alignment privileges learning outcomes in curriculum design, learning and teaching and assessment. In this paper we reflect on the selection and adoption of particular curriculum frameworks in higher education in relation to the purposes and aims of the intended learning experience and the intended future professional. Our reflec-tion is contextualised within the discipline area of mathematics. We argue that the journey towards becoming a member of a professional community is complex and that alternative curriculum models that facilitate a focus on that journey may be more appropriate under certain circumstances. We suggest that when designing a learning experience, it is necessary firstly to consider the type of learner or future professional you are trying to enable and secondly, to choose a curriculum design framework that best supports that goal.